5 Reasons Why Your Small Business is Not Retaining Customers
Are you consistently trying to improve your small business but getting nowhere? Are you noticing that the sales you make are not converting to repeat purchases? No matter your industry, customer retention is extremely significant to growing your business, but there are plenty of ways to encourage those customers to come back! The Insurance Octopus has compiled the following tips to help you identify where you may be falling short of retaining your customers.
You’re targeting a broad range of customer
The most important part of any business is knowing who you’re targeting and why. Many small businesses don’t actually know who their target audience should be, instead simply targeting a broad demographic in hope of attracting this ideal customer. The problem with this is that it often leads to wasted time and lost sales. As a more successful and efficient alternative, take some time to profile your target customer by considering the attributes of the customers you have already acquired. This way, you’re building from demographic and psychographic factors that you already know your brand appeals to, rather than attempting to imagine these factors from thin air.
Your employees are killing your vibe
We all have our bad days, but if one of your employees is continuously having ‘one of those days’, they’re either allowing their personal life to affect their work, or their customer service skills need improving. Negativity in the workplace doesn’t sell, and it certainly doesn’t aid in retaining customers, especially the kind of repeat customers you’re interested in keeping for your small business. Try sitting down with the staff member in question and talk to them.
You may discover the root of the problem is a personal issue they are struggling with, or maybe they are not aware of the persona they are presenting to your customers. Open communication between managers and employees can never hurt! Of course, they may not be willing to share their struggles with you, if there is any, but establishing an honest and safe environment for your staff is healthy for you, for them and ultimately, for your business.
The price isn’t right
Finding the right price for your products or services can be tricky. The price needs to offer good value for money for the consumer, while ensuring a decent profit margin for your small business. While it may seem simple to offer prices lower than that of your competitors, this can often give the impression of low-quality, which can be off-putting for the consumer, especially those who have seeking prestige or high-end products and services.
When pricing your products, it’s important to know your market, both your customers and competitors. The overall aim of any business should be to provide a high-quality product with a reasonable and representative price. There are many resources online to help you strategically set prices for your business, including this great article by Shopify!
You’re not discussing your brand values openly
A great way of retaining customers is by appealing to the more emotional side of their decision making, and you can do this by clearly establishing your brand values for your small business. What do you stand for? What are you hoping to change or contribute towards your industry? Why should the consumer choose you over your competitors? Everything your business offers and communicates should represent this message. As well as appealing to your desired customers, this is an easy method to keep your business rooted and on track regarding your initial values.
You’ve not tried remarketing for your small business
Remarketing and retargeting are great ways to get back in touch with people who have already shown an interest in your small business, whether that’s by visiting your website or even making a purchase. While remarketing refers to creating ads based on cookies, retargeting involves sending emails from data acquired previously. Both are worth trying for your business if you’re looking into more digital strategies. Benefits include being able to acquire customers who are more likely to convert. alongside the ability to capitalise on lost website traffic.
